Ex-Fort Bliss employee pleads guilty to accepting gratuities

A former Fort Bliss civilian contracting official who pleaded guilty to receiving gratuities in exchange for steering contracts to certain companies is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13, according to court documents.

The defendant, Hugo Earl White, of Canutillo, Texas, pleaded guilty on Oct. 16, 2013. His sentencing hearing is pending before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone's court in El Paso.

He was indicted last year of receiving a cell phone, $2,700 and a vehicle for his role in assisting co-defendant John Anthony Villela, a consultant in Victorville, Calif., to obtain contract for businesses that Villela represented.

White, who was arrested last June and released after posting a $20,000 bond, initially pleaded not guilty.

Court documents state that Villela was arrested in California in connection with the allegations. He pleaded not guilty, and a trial date for him is pending, according to federal court records.

According to the indictment, White and Villela allegedly conspired in exchanging information about demolition and construction contracts at Fort Bliss in 2008 and 2009.

Before he worked at Fort Bliss in a contracting supervisory position, White was formerly chief of the acquisitions division for the International Boundary and Water Commission in El Paso.